Natalie Hayes is a Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) who currently works at the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust. Learn more about Natalie’s job role, her digital development as well as the Florence Nightingale Foundation ran Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme sponsored by System C.

Natalie Hayes worked at the same Trust as a diabetes specialist nurse for approximately nine and a half years. Technology was rapidly developing alongside the progression of her career, this brought new challenges and benefits to her role. Changes were being implemented due to how the nature of diabetes care was evolving to become a lot more digitally driven. Since working at the Trust there was an implementation of brand-new applications and solutions which included innovative wearable technology for patients as well as remote monitoring software. These evolutionary approaches meant her clinically focused role started to have more of a digital focus.

Natalie’s Career Path

Natalie then applied to become a Chief Nursing Information Officer; this helped her gain valuable experiences within her sector.

After being in the post just short of twelve months, she felt like she needed some kind of structured support to help develop her career. The Florence Nightingale Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme, sponsored by System C, provided all the support she needed. Natalie believed this was a fantastic opportunity to network and talk to other people who were in a similar position to her.

‘The number one benefit is absolutely the network.’

Natalie has been employed within the NHS since she was eighteen, but she was never aware of the Florence Nightingale Foundation and the work that they regularly do to support other nurses. The exposure to the foundation helped her to co-create a network of colleagues and newly found friends which she stays connected with today.

Overcoming Challenges in Nursing

During her time on the programme, Natalie was exposed to the digital world through many different emerging applications such as Microsoft Teams. The Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme highlighted some unique skills as Natalie learnt how to properly express herself through MS Teams. She later discovered that this was an extremely valuable skill as it was essential knowledge for her new digitally focused role. Following the Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme, Natalie developed a further understanding of the pivotal role which technology plays in enhancing patient outcomes and streamlining healthcare delivery.

The Florence Nightingale Foundation led programme requires enrolled participants to attend a residential for a brief period. Initially, this was a challenge for Natalie as she had recently became a mother. She realised that being away from home for two nights was imperative as it would help her to further develop her professional career and skills.

Typically, Natalie’s role models had always been nurses within the Trust which she worked in, but during her time on the programme she got to witness and experience what other nurses around the country had achieved nationally. Natalie really appreciated the exposure to a wider range of nurses with different skills and achievements. This helped her to learn new knowledge about digital skills and career progression.

Insights from Natalie Hayes

As a result of the Florence Nightingale led programme, Natalie has observed a change within her behaviour and personal skills, she claims that it is important to be your true self. As a result, she now leads more openly and honestly, this is because Natalie has learnt that she should not be afraid to show her worries and vulnerabilities.

‘It’s not about fitting in, it’s not about being in that mould, it’s about being you.’

‘I think it makes you reflect on a level that you cannot do when you are in work. It physically takes you out of work. I think it gives you the reflection to look at your own practice. I think it gives you a network that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.’

Looking Towards The Future

Looking to the future Natalie shared she aspires to complete the full scholarship which the Florence Nightingale Foundation offers to give her the necessary skills to potentially become a Director of Nursing.

Learn more about the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme using this link.

Next Steps

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